MosquitoXEL Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Hey guys, I am currently a Junior in high school and my dream would be to be a PA. Let me tell you my plan and please let me know if I am setting the wrong expectations or if I am oversimplifying things.... So anyways, I am taking AP Biology and finished with a B+ in the class. By the end of the school year I expect to have a 3.8 weighted GPA. Next year I plan to take ROP Hospital Occupations and physiology. At the end of my senior year I will take a summer EMT course at my local community college and get a job as an EMT-B. Im guessing i'll make $15k-$20k per year. I will then go to Sac State and get my biology degree and be working as an EMT as I go to college (total of 4 years). I expect to have a 3.8-4.0 in college. I will work as an EMT for 3-5 years and save up for PA schhol. I will then apply for the PA program at UC Davis and make it when I am 26 years old. I will finish when I am 28 and work as a PA making $75k. How realistic is this plan and do you have any tips for me? Also, how realistic would it me for me to work as an EMT and go to college at the same time? Thanks <!-- / message --><!-- SDNCODE: one sig per thread --> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemegroup Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Dude, your plan is golden. Working while going to school is fine, provided you always put your studies first. Part-time will probably be the way to go, and loans are always there to take up the slack, should you need them. Experience is important, but so are your science and overall GPA's. My one recommend would be to look towards applying to more than one program. Davis has to turn away qualified applicants every year, as do all programs, simply based on volume. Other than that, great plan and best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Savage Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 If you are going to work all 4 years of college that is a good amount of experience. Provided that you keep your GPA 3.5 - 4.0 Why not go straight into PA school at 22 and be done at 24-25??? I know UC Davis is expensive and very competitive, but is that the only school that you are planning on applying to? You will have to take out loans regardless of how much you save. So if you are trying to keep them down by working and saving EMT...It may seem better to have the extra 3 years income as a PA to pay those loans. If you are trying to be more competitive by working the extra three years because UC davis is the only school you want to apply, then that is risky like Heme said. Either scenario you need to look into at least a few more schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosquitoXEL Posted December 31, 2010 Author Share Posted December 31, 2010 If you are going to work all 4 years of college that is a good amount of experience. Provided that you keep your GPA 3.5 - 4.0 Why not go straight into PA school at 22 and be done at 24-25??? I know UC Davis is expensive and very competitive, but is that the only school that you are planning on applying to? You will have to take out loans regardless of how much you save. So if you are trying to keep them down by working and saving EMT...It may seem better to have the extra 3 years income as a PA to pay those loans. If you are trying to be more competitive by working the extra three years because UC davis is the only school you want to apply, then that is risky like Heme said. Either scenario you need to look into at least a few more schools. Okay, so it seems like I've got a good plan. I'll defanitely apply to multiple schools and hope that one accepts me. I will probably take out some loans. Is it a good idea to be an EMT then a PA? Are there any others that went that route? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Savage Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 EMT is good experience and it puts you in the trenches of medicine. You will interact with nurses and doctors and paramedics and you will be exposed to one aspect of medicine. You have a good plan... just stick to it. If your grades start to slip because of work... cut back on work. It is better to work once your done with your degree, then sacrifice your GPA to keep working. You will need a 3.5 or so to stay competitive. Godspeed to you young sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonD Posted January 1, 2011 Share Posted January 1, 2011 Are you aware there are about 15 programs in the nation that will accept you right out of high school? Good programs too, like Quinippiac, St. Francis, and DeSales. My daughter is a junior also and her plan is to get into one of these programs. You will get a BS in 3 or 4 years (depending on the program), then go straight into the professional phase of the PA program and get an MS in PA in 2 more years. Most programs require you to get several hundred hours of HCE as an undergrad and keep your GPA above a 3.0 to continue into the final 2 years. A couple of the programs also require you to get your EMT as an undergrad. You can (should) apply to most of these schools after your junior year since they are on rolling admissions. Imagine going into your senior year in high school already accepted into a PA program, and knowing you will graduate at 22-23 and having multiple job offers. Sweet deal if you know that's what you want to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 1, 2011 Moderator Share Posted January 1, 2011 I like your original plan...very similar to what I did( emt in high school, worked as er tech through college, then did paramedic school, worked a medic for awhile then applied). I would steer you away from direct entry pa programs without experience entry requirements. take the time to do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonD Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I like your original plan...very similar to what I did( emt in high school, worked as er tech through college, then did paramedic school, worked a medic for awhile then applied).I would steer you away from direct entry pa programs without experience entry requirements. take the time to do it right. Do it right? I guess medical schools are doing it wrong then since there is no HCE needed to get into medical school. Anyway, schools like Quinippiac (one of the better PA programs in the country) require their undergrads to get 500 hours of HCE as an undergrad -- they tell you where and what kind of HCE. Whatever a student does HCE-wise before admission into the program does not count towards the 500 hour requirement -- they want it to be relevant. You can't go out and just change adult diapers for 500 hours and be done. Also, they must get their EMT and work so many hours as such. When I talked with the head of the PA program at Quinippiac, she confessed that their undergrad students did better in their program than the students they admitted into the MS portion with a BS from another school and their own outside HCE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemegroup Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Do it right? I guess medical schools are doing it wrong then since there is no HCE needed to get into medical school. This comparison doesn't work because medical students aren't expected to 'hit the ground running'. You can't go out and just change adult diapers for 500 hours and be done. You have a ways to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 2, 2011 Moderator Share Posted January 2, 2011 Do it right? I guess medical schools are doing it wrong then since there is no HCE needed to get into medical school. HCE for medstudents is called residency.....I wouldn't let a guy who had just graduated medschool and had not started internship touch me with a 39 1/2 foot pole. - an opposing viewpoint from an actual pa. ps quinnippiac is an adeuqate school. I wouldn't call it top tier by any means. a few hundred hrs done while a full time student doesn't cut it. real relevant experience IMHO starts around 2000 hrs. the program near me will not look at an app with less than 4000 hrs and they typically admit folks with 8000+ hrs....the other 2 local programs both want 2000+ hrs....and we are talking top 10 programs here.... direct entry pa=direct entry np. both are a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 There are vast amount of volunteer fire departments that have "sleeper programs". These are programs where you are a volunteer firefighter/EMT and live at the fire station. These folks go to school during the day, cover the ambulance/fire engine at night. Their room is paid for and often the programs either have dinners provided to the station crew or you at least have a kitchen available to allow you to grocery shop and feed yourself for a decent cost for tasty food (better than cafeteria stuff from dorms). My brother did it, I did it, I have many friends who have done it. Swing by your local fire station and start asking about volunteering, let them know you want to be a student and volunteer. They will know which station, if any, in the area can accommodate. My fire department paid for my paramedic and my wife's EMT program as well as the fire training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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